Now, with Thanos' galactic-domination plans set to play out beyond the printed pages of Marvel comics, the erstwhile villain is back in the six-issue miniseries "Infinity," along with heroes from Earth and beyond.

"It's called the Marvel universe for a reason. The stakes has never been just Earth, and no event proves that like 'Infinity,'" said Marvel Entertainment editor-in-chief Axel Alonso. "And at the root of the problem: the so-called mad titan, Thanos."

Writer Jonathan Hickman said the scale of the book, released Wednesday and illustrated by Jim Cheung, is such that it's got an event label, involving scores of plots, characters, arcs and struggles.

The series features Inhumans, Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and other heroes familiar to Marvel Entertainment readers.

But Thanos is swirling at the center of everything, coming off his reintroduction from "Thanos Rising," the five-issue series released this year.

"The stories that Thanos has been involved in all have a certain scale and importance and weight," Hickman said. "That's what we're trying to do here."